Thrill-pole.



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` lHRILI. POLE. APPLICATION FILED MAYZI 1918.

Paente Mar. 4,1%). 4 SHEETS-SHEET V\ .a @www pda/mgm Inventar. l Mhe/4U,

.Etorney.

R. WEISE.

THBILL POLE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21,. ma'.

; Patented Mar. 4,1919.

-SHEEI' 2.

4 SHEETS Inventor.

R. WEISE.

THRILL POLE.

APPUcATxoN man MAY21,1918.

Patented Mar. 4,1919.

R. WEISE.

THRI'LL POLE.

APPLlcATIoN FILED m/wzi4 191sA Patented Miu'. 4, 1919.

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nzfcntar. 2km/w @y MKM similar reference characters REINrroLD Waise, orNEW YORK, 1v. Y.

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ToaZZ 'whom t mag/concern.' .i

Be it known that I, REINHOLD VVEISE, `a subject of the Emperor ofGermany, residing atNew4 York, in the county and State of New York, haveinvented .certain new and useful Improvements in Thrill-Poles, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to amusement devices especially designed to beemployed as a part of a circus performance, and' has for its object toprovide a novel device for entertaining and thrilling the audiences atsuch performances. Another object is to provide a device of thecharacter described which may be knocked down for convenientshipment'from place to place along the route of a circus or otherperformance, and which may be quickly set up for use at each stand. heinvention consists essentially of` a pole adapted to be secured inupright position so that acrobatic performances may be 'enacted on itsupper end portion, during .which the pole Inc y have the appearance offalling with the acrobat whose life` Will seem to thel audience to be injeopardy.

Mechanism is provided, however, for gradually retarding the fall of thepole which 4is -brought to rest beforethe feet `of the performer touchthe ground.

The invention will be first hereinafter described in connection with theaccompany- "1ngdrawing`s, which constitute part of this specification,and then `incre specifically defined in the claims at the end of thedescrip- In the accompanyingdrawings, wherein are used to designatecorresponding parts throughout the several viewsz u Figure lis a sideelevation of a thrill pole accordand erected for use at a performance.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of thesame. Fig. 8 is a side elevation' of'the device showing the position of the pole when at the endv of thefall.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the supporting frame for the pole drawn toa larger scale.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section through said supporting frameand pole.

j Fig. 5a is a section on line V-V of Fig.` 5.

. Fig. 6 is a side View of one of the main pieces of the frame as itappears when taken apartfor shipment 1 i Specification of LettersPatent. Application led May 21, 1918. Serial No. 235,888.

separated.

fof

Y. Figilt is an end view 'neces of the frame .detachable sectionsonwhich the hands of Patented Mar. d, 1919.

Fig'. 7 is a longitudinal section through the joint in the pole.

Fig. 8 isa cross section on the line VIII@ VIII of Fig. 7. i

Fig. 9 is a detailedview of oneof the detachable end pieces of theframe, showing the mortise and tenon joint `between it and the mainpiece of the frame with the parts Fig. 10 is a detailed perspectiveview` of one of the braces which are detachably fastened to said endpieces of the frame and the arcuate members.` j i Fig. ll is a sectionon the line XI-XI of Fig. 5.

Fig. l2 is a detailed view of the sleeve lcjoupling the inner ends ofthe arcuate mem- GIS. 1

Fig. 13 is a detailed side elevation of one said arcuate membersdetachedfrom the frame.

of one of the main as shown in Fig. 6, showing the lateral brace Vfoldedup as in said figure.

Fig. lisa detailed view of the tie-piece for retaining the upper endportions of the journalmembers of the frame inproperly spaced relation,and

Fig. 16 is a section on the line XVI-XVI of Fig. 5. p p `The pole ispreferably 'about thirty feet long, but this dimension may of course bevaried if desired. For convenience in shipping from place to place, thepole is made in l and 2. The upper section 1 is connected to the lowersection 2 by a dowel' pin 3, see Figs. 7 and 8. In order i to.` make thepole springy without being brittlc. it is made up of a plurality oflongitudinal pieces 4. which may be glued or otherwise secured together,and around said laminated pole is wrapped or wound a tape covering 5which provides a rough surface the performer will not slip. i j

The lower section 2 of the pole is square at the bottom and setinto aheavy metal boxing 6, best shown in Figs. 5 and 5, said boxing servingasa counterweight when the pole swingsl or falls. The pole is secured insaid boxing by meansof the bolts 7. The lateral pieces of theboxingextend above the other pieces thereof andare Vprovided with projectingpivot lugs 8 which are journaled in notches `9 in the upper-ends of theltending to each upright portions 10 of the main frame pieces 11. Thepivot lugs 8 preferably engagewear pieces 80 in notches 9. Said mainframe pieces, (of which there are two alike, one ar right portions l0 ofa main frame piece and carrying one leaf 18 of a hinge the other leaf 19of which is fastened to the end portion of said sleeper 15. These hingeleaves are detachably connected together by a removable pintle 20 whichis attached to a cord'or chain 21 fastened to the brace 16. Then theframe is knocked down, the braces `16 are folded up against the uprightinembers 10v of the main frame pieces, as shown in Figs. 6 and 14.

Detachable end pieces 22 are connected to the ends of the horizontalmembers 12 of the main frame pieces by mortise and tenon joints 23 bestshown in Fig. 9. These end pieces of which there are two alike at eachend of the frame)V are seatedin properly spaced notches 24 in endsleepers 25, as best shown in Fig. 2. Lugs 26 on said end pieces abutagainst the inner faces of the end sleepers for preventing them fromsliding inward along the end pieces. The mortise and'tenon jointsbetween saidV end pieces and the main frame pieces have overlappingportions 27 at the top and underlapping portions 28 at the bottom formaking a strong and rigid joint. yThese joints are held together and theend sleepers 25 retained in proper position on the end pieces by guyropes 29 running froln the endsof the end pieces 22 to the upper ends ofthe upright portions 10 of the main frame pieces, said ropes beingattached to hooks 30 on the end pieces and to hooks 31 on the uprightpieces, and being adjustable by the provision of the sheave blocks 32.Other guy ropes 33 are connected to the hooks 31 and to hooks 34 on thelower ends of the braces 16 and provided with sheave blocks 32a forretaining the two upright members 10 properly spaced apart at the sidesof the base of the pole. The upper ends of said upright members are tiedtogether with a notched strip 35 interlocking with notches 35a inprojections 35b at one side of the said upper ends of the uprightmembers, as best shown in Fig. 15. This strip 35 may be disengaged fromthe notches in the upright members when the frame is to be knocked down.

Between the central sleeper and the end sleepers, the horizontalportions 12 of the to the pole by I permits adjacent cross p1 main`frame pieces are tied together and properly spaced apart bynotchedstrips 36, the notches 36L "whereof interlock with notches 36b in theupper edges of said horizent-al portions 12. The strips 36 also havenotches 37 in their upper edges'inwhich are allel toeach other andspaced apart side by side by cross pieces arranged at suitableintervals. The right hand arcuate member 38, as viewed in Figs. 1, 3, 4and 5, has two cross pieces 41 connecting the intermediate portionsvcross piece 42 at the upper ends of said side pieces. This cross piece42 has a groove or notch 43 in its upper edge to receive the pole whenthe latter has beenfully swung down to the position shown in Fig. 3. Theleft hand arcuate member 39 has a plurality of cross pieces 44connectingV its side pieces 40 and arranged at short intervals apartthroughout the greater part of thelength of said side pieces, as bestshown in Fig. 5. There'is also an end cross piece 45 at the upper end ofthe arcuate member 39.

The series of cross pieces44 on the left hand arcuate member 39 coperatewith a of its side pieces 40, and another pawl 46 on the bottom-end ofthe pole, also Said pawl is connected a flexible piece of cloth,leather, or other suitable material 46a which it 'to yield as it passessaid cross shown in Fig. 5.

pieces. j the pawl 4G enters between each pair of past each successivecross' piece the. fall of .the pole isgradually broken, finally comes torest Vin tion, as shown in Fig. 3, without `auyfjar being produced whensaid pole reaches the notched cross piece 42 at the `upper end of theright hand arcuate member.

As shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5,

eces V44 and las it snaps j so that itH a horizontal posi- Detachablebraces 47 are connected to the upper ends of the side pieces of thearcuate members and the corresponding end pieces ofthe frame preferablyby hinges 48 with removable pintles 49 at-u tached to cords or chains49a secured to the 4' bra'ces,fas best shown in Figs; 9 and 10.v

The pole may be fastened 1n upright-position, as 1n Fig. 1, by meansof arope50 connected at one end to the right hand side n of the base of thepole and running through n sheave blocks 51A, 52, 53 and 54 attachedrespectively4 to the central sleeper j 15,1"the right hand one of thetie strips 36,. the

notched cross piece "42, andthe end sleeper "deta'chably" fastened to25, said ropebeing said end sleeper, as by therope holder 55.

A Adown to horizontal position;

of the 'pole vand cause said pole tofswing on its pivots 8 tothehorizontal position 'shown' in Figil; During this movement of thepole,fthe fall will be gradually :broken bythe pawl 46'on the` polesnappingpast the cross pieces Mon the right hand arcuatemember, asalready explainedg A In order toV give' a sudden startv tothe fall ofthe pole and thus increase'the'fthrill derived by the audienceviewingthe per'- formance, a rope 56 'is attached -tofthe leftV handside of thellower-end ofthefpole and passedthroughl a sheave blocklatt'ached to a hook 58 en the upper crossppiece45 on the? left handarcuatemember,I This rope '56V is attached at its other end to` a sheaveblock 59, Fig. 5, through which 'anotherropeV 60" is passed, said latterrope AVbeingalso passed through a sheavefblock `Gllfastened to a hookv62 on'the right-hand end Asleeper .'and adapted to* fasten -to ropeholder |500.V By pulling on the ,rope V60,`the blocks gether, thusdrawing0 on the rope' 516 and swinging the ipole over to the rightifftherope `5() has been unfastened; The ropes A56 and 60 also serve tocontrol the return'of the-pole to Vvertical position afterit hasffbeenswung l -`After the performer lets go of fthef lpole, the counterjweight'would fbe apt-*to `swing 4it up again to Vvertical position witha jerkwere fitf'not out 'grac'zlually sogas toA insure the feas'y return ofthe pole "to its vertical? positionf i" Referring againjto thearcuatefmembers 38` and 39, theyjare fastened to theilhori'-` zontalmembers ofthe-main Vframe by bolts or rods 63 passing through saidhorizontal members andjtlirough lugs 64 `depending `from said arcuatemembers, as vbest shown in'Figs. 5: andlllj. *Theflower end "s'E of said4arcuate :members areconne'cted biyffa -7 sleeve coupling `65,` Figs-`5j and i I12,5which?, may` be permanently secured as "66 to one' mein--ber and havesliding;engagemenuwith the other member.I jThesefconnectionsl together with the crosspieces y3 6 andthe-bracestfServet `to 'supportil the arcuate-l members rigidly in position for use.lAt the sameV time, the parts may be quickly `ta-ken apart when itdesircdto movethe `device vfrom one place Ito another, the' crossl,pieces 36 'having no permanent fastening j means F but `simply restingin the notches in the* hori- 1zontalpo'rtion`slQIfthe'frame'and beingretained thereinE 'by "the arcuate members resting thereon when theframe is erected.

breaking the fall of the frame, of a polei'pivoted i frame, a `ropeattached to pole "frame, swing' 'thereon from raised to lowered posi-4Having thus described my invention, what I claim asnew anddesire tosecure by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:-

f 1.` The combination with i a supporting frame, of a pole pivoted toswing on said frame, meansfor normallyholding the pole in raisedposition, and means for gradually 'breaking the fall of the' pole whenit is swung down on its pivots.

' 2. The combination with a supporting frame, of a-pole-fpivoted toswing on said frame, anda pawl and ratchet device carried by the frameand the lower end of the pole"for gradually breaking its fall when it isswung down on its pivots.

I 8; The combination with a supporting frameyof apole, means on theframe for normally' supporting said pole inpraised position, and means`forbrea'king the fall of the pole from raised to lowered position.

*4.1The combination with a supporting frame; of `a pole pivotedto swingon said frame,an arcuate member on 'the frame having a series of spaced'abutments, and a flexiblymounted pawl on thelower endof the pole toengagesad` abutments for gradually pole as it is swung down onitspivots. v 5. The combinationl with a supporting frame, lof a polepivoted to swing on said frame, a counterweight 'onthelower end ofthepole, an arcuate member `on the frame having a seriesof spacedabut-ments," and a iexibly'mounted pawlonthe lowerend of the pole toengage said abutments for graduallybreaking the fall'of the pole as itis Aswung down onfits pivot f- 6;""1he` combinationiwith supportingtofswing on said the Alower `end of t'hepole and Avoperatively engagingthe frame for` normallyholding said pole in raised position, and meansfor gradually breaking the fall of the pole as it is swung down onitspivots. l "7."The combinationfwith a supporting frame, of' a polepivoted to swing on said frame from* vertical to horizontal position,means for gradually breaking thefall ofthe and a stop on the frame to beengaged bythe pole when it reaches a horizontalposition.` f u 8LThecombination*with a `supporting frame, offa pole'fmounted on said frameto swing thereon from raised to lowered posi- "tion, and a coveringofadhesive tape wound about said pole for the purpose specified. f 9.`The Acombination with 4a supporting of a pole"` mounted on saidframe totion, and an adhesive covering for the pole for the purpose specified. M10. The combination with a supporting frame, of a pole pivoted thereon,said frame comprising upright members supporting the pivots and arrangedat opposite sides of the bottomend of the pole, longitudinal membersextendingin opposite directions at the bases of said upright members,and lateral braces extending at the sides of said upright members.

11. The combination with a pole, of a knockdown frame for supporting thesame, said frame comprising parallel main frame pieces having centralupright members and oppositely extending horizontal members,-a centralsleeper arranged below said main lframe pieces, and braces betweensaidupright members and the end portions of said sleeper. A 12. Thecombination with a pole, of a knockdown frame for supporting the same,said frame comprising parallel main frame members havingvupright piecesand oppositelyv extending horizontal pieces, a transverse sleeper belowsaid main iframe members, and braces hinged at one end to said uprightmembers and detachably connected to the sleeper at theiry other ends.

13. The combination with a pole,of a knockdown frame for supporting thesame, said frame comprising parallel main frame members having uprightpieces for .connection to the pole and oppositely extending horizontalmembers, a central transverse sleeper below said .upright pieces, andend sleepers arranged transverse for supporting the ends of saidhorizontal members.

2 14. The combination with a pole, of a knockdown frame for supportingthe same, `said ,frame comprising parallel main iframe members havingupright pieces for connectionto the pole andv oppositelv` extendinghorizontal members, detachable end pieces at the ends of said horizontalmembers, a

central transverse sleeper below the upright" members, and end sleepersarranged transverselv below said end pieces.

15. The combination with a pole, of a knockdown frame for supporting thesame, said frame comprising parallel main frame pieces having uprightmembers for connectionto the pole and oppositely extending horizontalmembers, land detachable means for tying said parallel Vframe piecestogether.

16. The combination with a pole, of a knockdown frame for supporting thesame, said frame comprising parallel main frame pieces having Vuprightmembers for connection tothe pole and oppositelyv extending horizontalmembers, means for detachably connecting saidhorizontal memberstogether, and means for detachably connecting the upper end portions ofsaid upright members together at one side of the connections to the poe. .3

17. The combination with a pole, of a knockdown Atrame for pivotallysupporting said frame comprising parallel main frame pieces forsupporting the pivots of the pole and.

oppositely extending horizontal members, an arcuate member detachablyconnected to said horizontal members "and rising above the same in anare parallel to the arc of movement of the .lower endoi the pole, aseries of spaced abutments on said arcuatemember, and a pawl flexiblymounted on the lower end of the pole to engage said abutments for thepurpose specified. Q

18. The combination with a pole, of a knockdown frame for pivotallysupporting said pole, saidframe having parallel horizontal members.A anarcuate member extendving above said `horizontal members and disposed inan arc parallel to the are of movement of the lower end of the pole,detachable tying pieceshaving notches Ain their lower of saidarcuatemembers and the ends of the l horizontal members.

20. The 'combination with -aipole, l'of-a knockdown frame lfor pivotallvsupporting .thepole, said frame having horizontal members arranged at;opposite sides of the pple, detachablel end pieces atv the `ends ot thehorizontal members, arcuate members arranged parallel tothe arcofmovement of the lower end of the pole, and detachable braces between theends of said arcuate members and said end pieces.

21. The combination with a' pole, of a knockdown frame lor pivotallysupporting the pole, said frame havinghorizontal members arranged atopposite sides of the pole, and central uprightl members rising ffromsaid horizontal members for supporting the pivots Vor the pole,transverse sleepers at the Yends of said horizontal members, and guyropes running'fromsaid sleepers to the upper end portion of said uprightmembers.

22. The,combination witha pole, of a knockdowni'rame for pivotallysupporting the pole, said frame having horizontal mempivots of the pole,a transverse sleeperV arranged below the horizontal members directlyunder said upright membersand extendingat opposite sides of theframe,and

guy ropes running from the upper end portion of the upright members tothe outer end portions of said sleeper.

23. The combination with a pole, of a knookdown frame for pivotallysupporting the pole, said frame having horizontal members arranged atopposite sides of the pole and central upright members rising from saidhorizontal members for supporting the pivots of the pole, detachable endpieces having mortise and tenon joints with the ends of the horizontalmembers and forming continuations thereof, end sleepers having notchesto receive said end pieces, and guy ropes running from the end of saidsleepers to the upper end portions of said upright members for thepurpose specified.

24. The combination with a pole, of a frame for supporting the same,said frame having horizontal members arranged at opposite sides of thepole and central upright members rising from said horizontal members forsupporting the pivots of the pole, arcuate members extending from belowthe pivots of the pole parallel to the are of movement of said pole, andropes fastened to the lower end of the pole and running over the upperend portion of said arcuate members for the purpose specified.

25. The combination with a wooden pole, of a metal boxing in which thelower end of the pole is secured, pivot lugs on the upper end portion ofthe boxing, and a frame having supporting journals for said pivots.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

REINHOLD WEISE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patente,

' Washington, D. C.

